Local sovereign of liqueurs and eau de vie, Clear Creek Distillery started its reign nearly 30 years ago on founder Steve McCarthy’s family orchard in Parkdale, Ore., and named for the creek that runs through it. According to folklore (or the “About Us” portion of their website), McCarthy discovered pear eau de vie, or brandy, while traveling through Europe and tastings various versions based on Williams (aka Bartlett) pears. Having that pears on his orchard, his future seemed fortuitous—and rightly so, Clear Creek’s Pear Brandy is their best selling product. The distillery sources these particular pears from a Hood River Valley orchard, it supposedly takes 30 pounds of pears to make one 750ml bottle. The whole pear is then crushed and fermented in custom German-made pot stills to result in an all-encompassing aromatic bang of pear, accented by earth and the palate is round in pear flavor but surprisingly clean and invigorating. Serve chilled, this aperitif is classic eau de vie de poire.
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